Although advances have been reported to mimic the mechanically excellent structure of natural nacre, larger-scale applications are still limited due to time and energy-intensive preparation pathways. Herein, we demonstrate that simple high-shear homogenization of dispersions containing biobased high molecular weight sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (700 kg/mol, CMC) and natural sodium montmorillonite (MTM), serving as the soft energy-dissipating phase and reinforcing platelets, respectively, can be used to prepare large-area and thick films with well-aligned hard/soft nacre-mimetic mesostructure. During this process, core-shell nanoplatelets with intrinsic hard/soft structure form, which then self-assemble into a layered nanocomposite during water removal. The nanoscale periodicities of the alternating hard/soft layers can be precisely tuned by changing the ratio of CMC to MTM, which allows studying the evolution of mechanical properties as a function of the lamellar nanoscale periodicity and fractions of hard to soft material. Remarkable mechanical stiffness (25 GPa) and strength (320 MPa) can be obtained placing these materials among the top end of nacre-inspired materials reported so far. Mechanical homogenization also allows direct preparation of concentrated, yet homogeneous, gel-like dispersions of high nanoclay content, suited to doctor-blade large-area and thick films with essentially the same properties as films cast from dilute dispersions. In terms of functional properties, we report high-transparency, shape-persistent fire-blocking and the ability to surface-pattern via inkjet printing. Considering the simple, fully scalable, waterborne preparation pathway, and the use of nature-based components, we foresee applications as ecofriendly, bioinspired materials to promote sustainable engineering materials and novel types of functional barrier coatings and substrates.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/am400350q | DOI Listing |
Adv Mater
January 2025
Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China.
The application of physical fields is crucial for droplet generation and manipulation, underpinning technologies like printing, microfluidic biochips, drug delivery, and flexible sensors. Despite advancements, precise micro/nanoscale droplet generation and accurate microfluidic reactions remain challenging. Inspired by the liquid ejection mechanisms in microscopic organisms, an electrostatic manipulator for the precise capture, emission, and transport of microdroplets is proposed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscale Horiz
January 2025
Research & Development Institute of Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shenzhen, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
Over-oxidation of surface ruthenium active sites of RuO-based electrocatalysts leads to the formation of soluble high-valent Ru species and subsequent structural collapse of electrocatalysts, which results in their low stability for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, a binary RuO/NbO electrocatalyst with abundant and intimate interfaces has been rationally designed and synthesized to enhance its OER activity in acidic electrolyte, delivering a low overpotential of 179 mV at 10 mA cm, a small Tafel slope of 73 mV dec, and a stabilized catalytic durability over a period of 750 h. Extensive experiments have demonstrated that the spillover of active oxygen intermediates from RuO to NbO and the subsequent participation of lattice oxygen of NbO instead of RuO for the acidic OER suppressed the over-oxidation of surface ruthenium species and thereby improved the catalytic stability of the binary electrocatalysts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanomaterials (Basel)
January 2025
National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health and Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Microplastics, defined as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, degrade from larger pollutants, with nanoscale microplastic particles presenting significant biological interactions. This study investigates the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) on juvenile mice, which were exposed through lactation milk and drinking water at concentrations of 0.01 mg/mL, 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscale Adv
December 2024
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Dhaka Bangladesh
Nanoscale Adv
December 2024
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Bombay Mumbai Maharashtra India 400076
Using the spectral energy density method, we predict the phonon scattering mean lifetimes of polycrystalline graphene (PC-G) having polycrystallinity only along the -axis with seven different misorientation (tilt) angles at room temperature. Contrary to other studies on PC-G samples, our results indicate a strong dependence of the thermal conductivity (TC) on the tilt angles which we attribute to careful preparation of our grain boundaries-based samples without introducing any local strains and ensuring periodic boundary conditions for the supercells along the and axes. We also show that the square of the group velocity components along and axes and the phonon lifetimes are uncorrelated and the phonon density of states are almost the same for all samples with different tilt angles.
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